One Breath at a Time

February 18th

We meet every Monday at 8:00 PM and Thursday evenings at 7:30 PM. The meeting lasts about an hour, sometimes a little longer. The meetings are typically held in the main shrine room in the large meditation hall building (Turquoise Hall). During special events the meetings may be in the brick building practice house shrine (Diamond Temple) room, adjacent to the main building.

We start each meeting with 10 minutes of shamatha sitting meditation after a short description of meditation techniques for those who have not had formal instruction. Following meditation, we read a selection from One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the 12 Steps, by Kevin Griffin, a Buddhist meditation teacher who is in recovery. The reading is followed by an open discussion for about 30 minutes. We try to ensure everyone who wants to share gets the opportunity.

We consider the meeting to be Buddhist-flavored but not affiliated with Buddhism or Shambhala. Our mission is to explore the connections between Buddhism and recovery and to look at spiritual and contemplative wisdom from different traditions. People who have found the meeting useful include Buddhists in recover; people in recovery who are involved in (or curious about) alternative spiritual traditions, and people who struggle with their conception of a higher power or who have problems with the concept of a male God. We hope no one will give up on recovery because the word God appears in the 12 steps.

The Atlanta Shambhala Center is located at 1447 Church Street in Decatur, opposite the southeastern end of the Suburban Plaza shopping center, across the street from the bowling alley. Parking is available at the Center as well as at the Montessori School and the Taurus Insurance Agency on either side of the center. For more information, call group facilitator Al at 404-433-5463, or e-mail: [email protected]